Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Argentina will be aiming to recover from a 2-1 loss to Colombia when they take on Venezuela in an eagerly-awaited World Cup qualifier. La Vinotinto made a flying start to their WC qualifying campaign, but they are on a four-game winless run ahead of the visit of Argentina. As always, a man to watch in the home team will be Pachuca striker Salomon Rondon, with Gremio ace Yeferson Soteldo making the cut as well.
La Albiceleste, on the other hand, aim to retain top position in the standings and seeing that Leo Messi is fit for Thursday’s clash, away win should be considered. Aston Villa goalkeeper Dibu Martinez serves a one-game ban, while all Nicolas Gonzalez, Marcos Acuna, and Paulo Dybala have been ruled out with injuries. Olympique Lyon left-back Nicolas Tagliafico is back to contention. You should know that Argentina are eyeing their fifth consecutive win over Venezuela in all competitions.
Highlighted Player (Lionel Messi):
Lionel Messi is regarded as one of the best players in the history of football. He was born on 24 June, 1987 in Rosario and he began his football career at Newell’s Old Boys. At age 10 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, but having realized his potential at a young age, Barcelona decided to pay for his treatment.
Messi joined Barca in 2001 and he has been playing for the Camp Nou outfit ever since. The Argentine magician has won eight La Liga trophies with Barca and he helped the Catalan giants lift no less than four Champions League titles (2005/2006, 2008/2009, 2010/2011, 2014/2015).
In the 2011/2012 La Liga campaign Messi scored 50 goals for Barca, while netting 14 goals in the 2011/2012 Champions League campaign. The five-time Golden Ball award winner has established himself as Barcelona’s all-time top scorer, but he has yet to win a trophy with Argentina national team at major tournaments. Leo Messi, though, has won Olympic Gold Medal (2008) and FIFA World Youth Championship (2005), with la Albiceleste.
Highlighted Team (Venezuela):
The Venezuela national team is the member of South American CONMEBOL confederation competing at the international stage since 1938, at the same time fighting for glory and popularity in the country where baseball diverts all of the attention from the sport. With increased popularity of the FIFA World Cup the country found enough motivation and incentive to increase player development and fan support in order to strengthen the cult of the national football team.
However, South American minnows Venezuela have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and as of 2014 they remain the only CONMEBOL member not to achieve this feat. La Vinotinto have however appeared in 15 Copa America tournament with their first entry coming in 1967. Their best result was the fourth-place finish in 2011 and under the new leadership of Rafael Dudamet, Venezuela are looking for an upset at Copa America Centenario.
The most prominent player of the Venezuela national team is New York Cosmos midfielder Juan Arango who is the team’s top scorer and the player with most caps.